Railway safety appliance.



l. CULTON RAFLWAY SAFETY APPLIANCE. APPLECATION FILED APR. 21. 19M.

Patented Aug. 7,1917.

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I. CULTON.

RAILWAY SAFETY APPLlANGE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 21. 19M.

Patented Aug. 7, 1917.

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JAMES CULTON, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

RAILWAY SAFETY APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented A11 "7, 1917.

Original application filed October 14, 1913, Serial No. 794,046. Divided and this application filed April 21, 1914. Serial No. 833,391.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, Litres CULTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Railway Safety Appliances, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the class of railway safety appliances in which two cooperative elements respectively positioned adjacent a railway track and carried on a locomotive or other power driven vehicle, are provided to arrest the movement of the latter along the track by automatically reversing the valves which control the supply of motive fluid to the propelllng mechanism of the vehicle and the flow of air in the brake-system 0f the same.

The primary object of my mvention s like that of others of its class, to avert accidents by automatically arresting the movement of a locomotive or other vehicle in case 1t is permitted by inadvertence or negligence of its driver, to pass by a danger lndlcatlng track-signal with which the track element comprised in my invention is associated.

The present invention relatesmore particularly to the locomotive carrled mechanism shown and described in my apphcation for Patent No. 794,046, filed October 14, 1913, of which the present application is divisional, and its object resides 1n prov1d 1ng a simple, durable and reliable mechanism which by reversing the valves which respectively control the supply of motive fluid to the propellent mechanism of a locomotive, the flow of air through the brake mechanism of the same, and the discharge of sand onto the track, will automatically arrest the movement of the locomotive when the actuative member which forms part of the mechanism engages the surface of a track element disposed in its path.

Another object of my invention resides in the provision of novel means for preventing actuation of the locomotive carried mechanism by contact with the track element, un less the latter is blocked agalnst movement out of the path of the member of the mechanism by which it is engaged.

In the accompanying drawings in the various views of which like parts are similarly designated,

Figure 1 represents an elevation of the rear portion of a locomotive to which the automatic controlling mechanism of my invention is applied, and in longitudinal, section, the track element with which the operating member of the said mechanism engages,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the parts of the mechanism by which the operating lever of the engine throttle is reversed to close the same in the operation of my invention,

Fig. 3, a transverse section taken along the line 33, Fig. 2,

Fig. 4, a transverse section through the track and the track element together with a rear elevation of the engine shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 5, a fragmentary view of the locomotive carried mechanism showing a modified construction of the parts by which the valve of the sand box of the engine is automatically opened in the operation of my invention,

Fig. 6, an enlarged section taken along the line 6-6, Fig. 1, and

Fig. 7, a view illustrating a method of applying the mechanism to the controller of an electrically driven vehicle.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 2 designates the railway track, and 3 one of the track elements installed alongside thereof.

The track element comprises a base plate 4 which is rigidly secured at one side of the track and in parallel relation to the rails thereof, upon a foundation bed 5 of concrete or other suitable material.

The base plate has at its ends a plurality of apertures through which project the threaded ends of stud bolts 6 which are firmly anchored in the bed as shown in Fig.

4, and which are provided with nuts which by engagement with the upper surface of the plate, firmly secure the latter in its proper position with relation to the track.

Coiled springs -7 which are supported in an upright position in sockets formed on the plate 4 in the inclosure provided by a sur rounding flange 8, carry at their upper ends, a hollow rail 9 the upper surface of which is curved longitudinally.

Bolts 10 attached at their upper ends to the rail, extend loosely through the respective springs and through central opeuin gs in the .sockets in which the latter are supported, to guide the rail during its vertical movements.

To prevent water from reaching the operating mechanism disposed in the inclosure provided by the flange 8, the hollow rail has its edges projecting over the said flange, and the space between the said edges and the surface of the plate is closed by means of an endless apron 12 made of canvas, rubber or other suitable, flexible material, which is secured along the edges of the plate and along those of the rail as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Blocks 13 which are slidably fitted in openings in the side walls of the flanges of the base plate areprovided to prevent downward movement of the rail when they are moved outwardly beneath the adjacent edges of the same, and they are by means of a suitable transmission mechanism, parts of which are shown in the drawings and designated by the numerals 14 and 15, connected with a signaling instrument which automatically controls their position.

Inasmuch as the means for operating the blocking appliance of the track instrument 7 does not form part of the present invention they have not been shown in the drawings. The locomotlve carrled IIlGCllHIllSlTl. which when actuated by engagement with the rail 9 of the track element reverses the position mounted in a position which compels it to engage peripherally, the threads of the rails 9 of the track elements when the engine passes the points on the track at which they are located.

The wheel 20 is preferably formed with a tread of little width so that in case the upper surface of one of the rails 9 is covered with mud, dirt, ice or snow, it will cut through the same to engage said surface for the proper operation of the other parts of the element carried on the locomotive, which are actuated by a determinate'movement of the rod to which the wheel is attached.

A nut 21 on the rod 16' limits its downward motion by engagement with the upper end of the bracket and a coiled spring 22 applied between the lower end of the latter and the shoulder formed at the point of connection of the rod with the forked wheelbearing 19, yieldingly opposes movement of the rod in the opposite direction.

By constructing the spring 22 so that its resistance to compression exceeds that of the combined springs on which the rail of the rack element is supported, the Wheel 20 when riding along the tread of the said rail when it is not blocked against downward deflection, will compel it to move downwardly to permit said wheel to pass the apex of its curved tread without affecting the rod 16 which thus remains in its normal position.

The rod 16 is provided at its upper end with a conical head 23 for the operation of the parts of the element which are actuated by its upward motion, and its portion extending above the bracket 17 is jointed as at 24 so as to permit of the head 23 being moved out of its operative position as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 1, when the operation of the locomotive element of the invention by the engagement of the wheel 20 with the rail 9 of the track element is not desired.

To prevent unauthorized persons from moving the upper portion of the rod 16 to its inoperative position, I provide locking means which as best shown in Fig. 6 of'the drawings, consist of two pivoted arms 25 which being attached to the adjustable portion of the rod, are adapted to engage a surface of the lower portion of the same, whereby to prevent movement of the said upper portion about its pivot.

The extremities of the two pivoted arms are bent outwardly as at 26, and provided with suitable key-controlled means whereby they may be securely locked together.

Pivotally mounted on the side of the engine are two bent levers 28 and 29, corresponding arms of which extend in the path of the head 23 during upward movement of the rod, to be simultaneously engaged thereby. The other arm of the lever 28 is connected with the laterally extending handle of a valve 30 which controls the flow of air through a pipe 31 which at one of its ends connects with an air-reservoir 32, to convey air tov a cylinder 33 which is connected at its opposite end.

The reservoir 32 which is provided to supply air to the cylinder 33, may also be used to furnish air for blowing a whistle and for ejecting sand from the sand box, as will hereinafter be described, and it may be connected with either the reservoir of the air brake system of the locomotive, or with a separate means for compressing air.

A spring-pressed plston 34 slidably fitted in the cylinder, has a rod which connects with an arm of a rocker lever 35, the oppoadapted to close the throttle which controls the steam supply of the engine, by connec- .of an emergency valve 48 which controls 39 to engage the front edge thereof. A rod 42 connects the arm with the pawl 43 which by engagement with the teeth of the segment 44: holds the operating lever in its adjusted position, and the rod 36 has at its end, a loop 45 which embraces the arm 40 so as to move it in engagement with the adjacent edge of the lever when the rod of which it forms part, moves inwardly.

It will be observed that the lever 39 may be operated by hand without affecting the position or connections of the mechanism of the present invention, applied thereto.

When, however, the lever 39 is moved to the position in which it has opened the throttle, as shown in the drawings, air admitted to the cylinder 33 past the valve 30 will by pressure on the piston 34, cause a longitudinally sliding movement of the rod 36 which first of all releases the pawl 43 from the teeth of the segment 44 through the medium of the rod 42, and then moves the lever 39 to the position in which it closes the throttle by the engagement of the arm 10 with its forward edge.

The air cylinder 33 has at its rear end, a vent-hole 46 which in connection with a longitudinal groove 47, serves the two-fold purpose of preventing compression of air behind the piston during its operative movement, and of providing a slow escape for the compressed air by which it is actuated, to facilitate its return motion.

The lever 29 is connected with the handle the discharge of air through the end of a pipe 49 which is connected with the air brake system.

It will be observed that the conical head of the rod 16 is normally separated some distance from the levers 28 and 29, which prevents opening of the valves with which said levers are connected by a limited movement of the member 16 should an obstruction which the wheel 20 cannot penetrate be present on the face of the rail 9.

A rod 50 slidably mounted in axial alinement with the operating rod 16 has at its lower extremity, a preferably concave enlargement 51 against which the convex head 23 of the rod 16 impinges during its upward motion.

The upper end of the rod 50 is through the instrumentality of a bell-crank 52 operatively connected with the operating rod 53 of the normally closed valve of the discharge pipe 54 in the sand box 55 of the engine, and inasmuch as the sand-box valve and the rod and lever connected therewith are those found on the majority of modern locomotives, they have not been shown in detail in the drawings.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings is shown the application of the last-mentioned feature of my invention to an engine in which the discharge of sand from the sand-box 55 is accomplished by the introduction of compressed air into the said box from a reservoir separate from the air-brake system.

The sand box is in this construction connected with the reservoir by means of a pipe 56, the flow through which is controlled by a valve 57 in the cab of the engine.

In applying my invention, I connect the pipe connection between the valve 30 and the cylinder 33, by means of a branch pipe 58, with the pipe 56 so that when the valve 30 is opened to admit air to the cylinder 33, air is at the same time introduced into the sand box 55 for the purpose of discharging its contents onto the rails through the discharge pipe 54.

A check-valve 75 in the pipe 58, disposed as shown in Fig. 5, serves to prevent the admission of air to the cylinder 33 and the whistle 59 when. the valve 57 is opened to operate the sander.

A whistle 59 may be provided in connec tion with the portion of the air pipe 31 which connects the valve 30 with the cylinder 33 to sound an alarm at the time the different means which cooperate to auto matically arrest the movement of the engine,

are actuated bv the upward movement of the operating rod 16 when the wheel 20 at the lower end thereof, rides to the apex of the blocked rail 9 of one of the track elements. When both the whistle 59 and the connection between the pipe 31 and the pipe 56 are employed, the pipe 58 may be branched from the pipe which connects the whistle with the connection between the valve 30 and the cylinder 33, as shown in Fig. 5.

The several bell-crank levers of the locomotive-carried element of my invention have handles 60 to facilitate their adjustment by hand which is required to return them to their normal positions after each operation.

In the construction shown in Fig. 7 I have shown my invention as applied to the controller of an electrically propelled vehicle. The shaft 61 of the controller is by means of a pawl 62 and a ratchet 63 connected with gear 64 loosely mounted on its extremity, between the upper surface of the controller box 65 and the operating handle 66.

A segment gear 67 mounted for rotation about an arbor 68 has a radially extending arm 69 which connects with the rod of the piston 34: in the air cylinder 33 of the element of my invention which is carried on the vehicle, the said segment being normally disengaged from the gear, but positioned to move into mesh therewith when by movement of the piston it is turned in the direction of the arrow H.

The presence of the respective parts of my invention does not interfere with the movement of the controller shaft under ordinary circumstances, to either the on position shown in full lines, or the olf-position shown in broken lines in Fig. 7. If, however, in the operation of the apparatus as hereinbefore described the piston 34 is forced outwardly by the introduction of compressed air into the cylinder 33 when the valve 30 is opened, the consequent operative engagement of the segment 67 with the gear 64 will cause a rotary movement of the shaft 61 to automatically place the lever 66 in the off-position, thereby breaking the connection between the motor of the vehicle and the source of current supply.

W'hen subsequently the piston 34 and the therewith operatively connected segment 67 are returned to their original positions, the pawl and ratchet by which the gear wheel 64 is connected with the controller shaft, will hold the latter against corresponding movement.

From the foregoing description, the operation of the mechanism of my invention carried on the locomotive will be readily understood. When the rail 9 of the track element is rendered immovable by the projected position of the blocks 13, the wheel 20 engaging its tread will, While mounting to the apex thereof cause an upward movement of the rod 16 with which it is connected. This upward motion is transmitted to the rod 50 by the engagement of the head 23 with the enlargement 51 at the lower end thereof, with the result that the outlet-pipe 54 of the sand box 55 is opened for the discharge of sand onto the rails of the track 2.

The engagement of the head of the rod 16 with the superposed arms of the bent levers 28 and 29 opens at the same time the valves and 48 with which these levers are respectively connected, to introduce air into the cylinder 33 through the pipe 31 for the purpose of closing the throttle valve, as hereinbefore explained, and to permit the air of the brake system to exhaust through the valve 48 whereby the brakes are set.

By thus discontinuing the supply of motive fluid to an engine and at the same time setting the brakes of the train and throwing sand onto the rails of the track to provide a frictional resistance to the movement of the wheels thereon, the locomotive and the cars connected therewith are automatically brought to a stop within a short distance from the point at which the semaphore is located, and accidents which might readily have occurred in case the engine had continued its course past the danger signal, are thus averted.

To return the parts of the mechanism by which the throttle is closed, to their normal positions, the valve 30 is closed by manually moving the lever 28 to the position it originally occupied. The supply of compressedair to the cylinder thus being discontinued,

the quantity contained therein escapes through the groove 47 and the vent hole 46 into the atmosphere, thereby allowing the spring 7 O to return the piston to its normal position. v

The valve which controls the escape of air from the air brake system and the valve or valves which control the discharge of sand from the sandbox are likewise moved by hand to their normal positions, and the driver of the engine or other vehicle to which my invention is applied, is thereby compelled to inspect all the parts of the mechanism and assure himself of their operative condition before the vehicle which has been brought to a stop by the operation of the apparatus, is again put in motion.

If so desired, rods may be attached to the handles of the several levers so that they can be turned to their normal position by the engineer of a locomotive, without the necessity of his leaving the cab, and while I have shown and described the other operative parts of the elements comprised in my invention in the best form at present known 1,

to me, I desire it understood that variations in their construction and relative arrangement may be resorted to within the spirit of my invention, as defined in the following claims:

1. In combination with a power-driven vehicle equipped with an air-brake system, a source of air-supply separate from said system, a fluid-operated element connected with said source and adapted to effect a discontinuation of the supply of motive fluid to the propelling mechanism of the vehicle by actuation of a controlling-member of the same, a valve in said connection, a valve connected with the train-pipe of the airbrake system for the exhaust of air therefrom, a sand box, a connection between-said sand-box and said source, a valve in said connection, an operating element movably mounted on the vehicle to be actuated during movement of the vehicle by contact with a relatively stationary device, and means for the adjustment of said valves by a determinate movement of said operating element.

2. In combination with a power-driven vehicle equipped with an air-brake system, a source of air supplyseparatefrom said system, a fluid-operated element connected with said source and adapted to effect a discontinuation of the supply of motive fluid to the propelling mechanism of the vehicle by actuation of a. controllingmem'ber of the same, a valve in said connection, a valve connected with the train-pipe of the air-brake system for the exhaust of air therefrom, an operating element movably mounted on the vehicle to be actuated during movement of the vehicle by contact with a relatively stationary device, and means for the adjustment of said valves by a determinate movement of said operating element.

3. In combination with a power-driven vehicle equipped with an air-brake system, a source of air-supply separate from said system, a fluid-operated element connected with said source and adapted to effect a discontinuation of the supply of motive fluid to the propelling mechanism of the vehicle by actuation of a controlling-member of the same, a valve in said connection, a sand-box, a connection between said sand-box and said source, a valve in said connection, an operating element movably mounted on the vehicle to be actuated during movement of the vehicle by contact with a relatively stationary device, and means for the adjustment of said valves by a determinate movement of said operating element.

l. In combination with a power-driven vehicle equipped with an air-brake system, a source of air-supply separate from said system, a valve connected with the train-pipe of the air-brake system for the exhaust of air therefrom, a sand-box, a connection between said sand-box and said source, a valve in said connection, an operating element movably mounted on the vehicle to be actuated during movement of the vehicle by contact with a relatively stationary device, and means for the adjustment of said valves by a determinate movement of said operating element.

5. In combination with a power-driven vehicle equipped with an air brake system, a source of air-supply separate from said system, a sand-box, a connection between said sand-box and said source, a valve in said connection, an operating element movably mounted on the vehicle to be actuated during movement of the vehicle by contact with a relatively stationary device, and means for the adjustment of said valve by a determinate movement of said operating-element.

6. In apparatus of the character described mechanism adapted to be carried on a power driven vehicle and capable of controlling the movement of the same, said mechanism including an impellent element capable of a determinate impellent movement by contact with a device disposed in its path, train controlling means disposed to be operated by a determinate movement of said element, and a contact member carried on said element for engagement with said device, said member having a sharp peripheral edge adapted to cut through obstructive matter lodged on said device to thereby insure the completion of the impellent movement of said element irrespective of the presence of such matter on said device.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES CULTON. Vfitnesses G. J. ROLLANDET, L. RHOADES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

